This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2002-0033911 filed on Jun. 18, 2002, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Description of the Related Art
The present invention relates to a handle for a cooking utensil which is easily attachable to and detachable from a cooking utensil body; and more particularly, a handle, which couples the utensil""s lid to its body, to tightly seal and create pressure in the utensil body when cooking foodstuff.
Conventional cooking utensils, such as pots and pans, are well known and used in a kitchen. Although, some types of cooking utensils are frequently used, other types are not. Those types that are not used are stored for a period of time between uses. In addition, pots and pans require a substantially larger storage space in the kitchen than other cookware such as dishes or spatulas. Generally, pots and frying pans are made with handles that are securely and permanently fixed to the outer bodies by such methods as welding or screw joints. The conventional cooking utensils have handle(s) affixed to the body of the cooking utensil, which makes it unsuitable for cooking or storage in an oven and for placement on a table for serving. Pots and pans with detachable handles require less space, as the handles may be removed and placed inside the pots or pans, thereby enabling the pots and pans to be stored closer together.
A separable handle for a cooking utensil is taught in Korean Utility Laid-Open No. 20-0166096, published on Oct. 25, 1999. The operation of the separable handle disclosed in the publication is as follows. Affixed to the outer body is a xe2x80x98xe2x80x99 shaped rectangular bracket with an opening in the middle. A handle with a xe2x80x98uxe2x80x99 shaped end slides over the bracket, and a switch releases a shaft that slides into the opening to secure the handle onto the utensil body.
A benefit of the above mentioned art is its simplicity; however, an inconvenience of such art is that if either the hook on the handle or the bracket on the utensil is bent, the handle can become unstable and can cause the body of the utensil to shake as it is being handled.
In such publications as above, the structure of the design is simple; however it is inconvenient. Moreover, it does not teach a separable handle capable of coupling the utensil""s lid to its body, to tightly seal and create pressure in the utensil body.
An object of the present invention is to provide a separable handle capable of creating pressure in a cooking utensil which can be easily attached to and detached from a utensil body to reduce the amount of spatial volume a cooking utensil takes up when it is stored, so that the cooking utensil can be stored in a small area such as an oven or electric range.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a handle for cooking utensil which can turn a conventional cooking utensil into a pressure cooker when necessary by providing a pressure piece attached to the handle body which secures the utensil lid to the utensil body.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a separable handle capable of creating pressure in which the operations of creating pressure is relatively easy and convenient.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a cooking utensil handle structure that substantially obviates one or more of the problems, limitations, and disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a cooking utensil handle structure which can be easily attached to and detached from a utensil body to reduce the amount of spatial volume a cooking utensil takes up when it is stored.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a handle structure which can be used as a means for securing a utensil lid to a utensil body to create pressure, thereby accelerating the cooking time of foodstuff when the cooking utensil is heated.
Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, in a cooking utensil handle detachable and attachable to a cooking utensil body having a coupling link, the handle comprises a handle body, handle body coupling means adapted to couple and decouple the handle body to and from the coupling link; a pressure piece adapted to press an outer edge of a cooking utensil lid to the utensil body; and a pressure piece coupling means, wherein the pressure piece coupling means slidably engages the pressure piece to the handle body.
The handle body coupling means comprises a means for locking the handle body, to couple the handle body to the coupling link; and a means for unlocking the handle body, to decouple the handle body from the coupling link. The means for locking the handle body comprises a plunger having a slant head and a plunger spring constantly pushing the plunger so that the slant head protrudes inside a coupling recess. When the handle is being coupled with the body, the slant head of the plunger is pushed back by an entering force of the coupling link inserted into the coupling recess, and then the plunger enters an opening provided on the coupling link when the coupling link is completely inserted into the coupling recess. The plunger inserted in the coupling link prevents the handle from separating from the utensil body.
The means for unlocking the handle body comprises a plunger pin inserted into a pin hole provided on the side of the body of the plunger and a push button having a slant end. The slant head of the plunger is pushed out of the coupling link by an entering force of the slant end of push button pushing the plunger pin downwards to decouple the handle body from the coupling link of the utensil body.
The pressure piece coupling means comprises an open region having an inner area and an outer area formed on the pressure piece, and a rail having a projecting platform and a neck region formed on the handle body. The open region of the pressure piece has a width greater in the inner area than in the outer area; and the rail of the handle body has a width greater in the projecting platform than in the neck region. Thus, the open region of the pressure piece slidably engages the rail of the handle body.
The pressure piece coupling means further comprises a first spring accommodating means formed on the open region of the pressure piece; a second spring accommodating means formed on the rail of the handle body; a seal spring having a front and back end; and to accommodate the spring connected on opposite ends, a spring path formed on the handle body. The seal spring is connected at the front end to the first spring accommodating means and the back end to the second spring accommodating means. The tension of the seal spring constantly pulls the pressure piece towards a first position where the pressure piece presses the outer edge of the cooking utensil lid to couple the utensil lid to the utensil body.
Preferably, the pressure piece coupling means comprises a pressure piece locking means. The pressure piece locking means locks the pressure piece in a second position where the pressure piece does not press the outer edge of the cooking utensil lid. The pressure piece locking means comprises a key installed on the pressure piece, and a pressure button having a projecting end installed on the handle body. At the second position, the pressure button engages the key to prevent the pressure piece from moving towards a pressure creating first position. The pressure piece locking means further comprises pressure button springs constantly pushing the pressure button outwards from the handle body. However, an entering force substantially greater than the strength of the tension of the pressure button springs pushing the pressure button shits the pressure piece out of the second position towards the first position. Both the projecting end of the pressure button and the key has a slant head. The slant head of projecting end of the push button allows a pressure piece pushing force to slide the pressure piece into the second position. The slant head of the key allows the pressure piece to slide out of the second position towards the first position.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.